NBDE Advice

Page Contents:
1. NBDE Part I
2. NBDE Part II


1. NBDE PART I

The following is general information on how to prepare for part 1 of the NBDE as well as a recap of my experience and advice.  Every school has a different time table, so obviously you will have to taylor your study methods to how you've learned.  However, what follows is the method I used and hopefully you can take some tips away!

NOTE: I took my board exam 1 month before the ADA changed it to pass/fail.  The following information may not accurately reflect these changes.

Exam date: November 23, 2011
Scores received: December 14, 2011


My scores:

Comp: 85
Total Correct: 305/400

Anatomy: 73/100 (National Average: 64.5)
Bio/Phys: 69/100 (National Average: 61.6)
Micro/Path: 75/100 (National Average: 66)
Dental Anat/Occl: 88/100 (National Average: 74.9)

Overall, I'm very happy with an 85.  Going off of the old 1998 conversion table, I would have had about a 91 or 92.  So if you are going off of that, drop your score about 6-7 points and you'll have a good idea of what you'd actually get.  The comp score is NOT the overall % of questions I got right.  I got 305/400 which is 76.25% correct.  The section breakdowns, however, are based on total number correct, so a 73/100 on Anatomy literally means I got 73% of the Anatomy questions right and since it's out of 100, I got 73 Anatomy questions right.


What I used:

For Part 1, I focused mainly on four things:

• Dental decks
• These are a wonderful resource to refresh and learn what you need without feeling like you're reading a textbook.
• First Aid
• Yes, it has some errors.  But overall, it's an extremely fast and efficient way to review what you need.  Probably best used after you've done your main learning with a textbook or dental decks.  
• Old Exams
• The ADA has released around 40-50 exams since the late 70s and you will get questions from old exams that reappear on the NBDE.  Also, it's a wonderful way to gauge your studies and to gather new information you may not have thought was important.
• Typodont
• One of the best ways to visualize movements and tooth morphology is with a typodont.  I had an extra one from a class we had already finished so I kept that with my while I studied to refer to when I needed it.

2. NBDE PART II

The following is general information on how to prepare for part 2 of the NBDE as well as a recap of my experience and advice. 

As you know (or should!), both Part 1 and Part 2 of the NBDE moved to a simple Pass/Fail scoring system in January 2012.  With that, I only received a letter with my NBDE Part 1 score as well as a "PASS" for my NBDE Part 2 with no numerical score whatsoever.  If you fail, you will receive information on your score.


What I used:

For Part 2, I focused mainly on five things:

• Dental decks
• I loved dental decks for Part 2, a little more than I liked them with Part 1.  Because Part 2 is more conceptual (you've seen this stuff in clinic by now) the decks were good to think about and get little pictures in your mind for different principles and things.  
• Tuft's Pharmacology Review
• This thing is pure magic for the Pharmacology section.  This thing is an absolute must for this section and this can't be emphasized enough.  This is, literally, the ONLY thing I used for Pharmacology and I felt well prepared during the exam.  Search for this online and you'll find it. 
• First Aid
• I wasn't a fan of it here.  If you've got it, it isn't bad by any means but don't rely on this as a sole resource.  It's lacking in areas but is a solid book to do a quick fly through 
• Old Exams
• These are crucial.  I got several repeat questions on my real exam.  I would not focus on the older ones from the 70s and 80s here because some of the information is outdated and doesn't apply, especially when it comes to some of the newer materials.  Focus on the released ASDA exams "K", "L" and "M".  I was scoring anywhere from 62-68% on these.  I never got above 70% on a practice exam.
• Mosby's
• This book was amazing, but was pretty hard to get through sometimes as it's very very dense.  This means it's packed with information but it's hard to stay focused.  I liked dental decks better overall but this book is worth it, especially vs. First Aid.

Helpful Links:
DENTPIN Information
Register for NBDE Part 1 (via ADA)
Prometrics (schedule your exam)

updated 28 My 2017